telemarketers even though they registered on the national "do not call" lists.

53.7 million registered
The complaints come as the list continues to grow. The FTC said there are 53.7 million names on the Do Not Call Registry.

The 15,000 complaints were received in little more than a week. The FTC was forced to delay accepting complaints until Oct. 11 because of court battles over the list's legality.

The FTC has yet to determine the validity of the complaints. While some consumers who signed up early can no longer be called, consumers who signed up later can be called for up to three more months. In addition, the list doesn't cover calls from nonprofit, political or survey groups.

Pursuing violators
While the number of complaints is large, FTC Chairman Tim Muris has pledged to devote the resources to pursuing list violators. Both he and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said they expected the first target would be the worst offenders.

The Federal Communications Commission is also taking complaints and said it has received an additional 3,218 complaints since Oct. 1.

The Direct Marketing Association and the American Teleservices Association are each pursuing lawsuits against the do-not-call list, claiming it violates the First Amendment.